


Powdered Sugar and Concrete

by wolfintestines



Series: Powdered Sugar and Concrete-verse [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: HPFT, F/F, F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-22 21:50:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7455163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfintestines/pseuds/wolfintestines
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Artemis Dolohov is the daughter of a Death Eater, the older sister of one of the most talented Quidditch players in Hogwarts' history, and the best friend of Layla Finnigan. Somehow, she has managed to coast through Hogwarts(life, really) with relatively minimal attention to drawn to her. Her final year at Hogwarts is going to be the year of Artemis Dolohov, whether she likes it or not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Powdered Sugar and Concrete

The few friends my parents have will remark, ‘Artemis is just like Antonin,’ then end up regretting their choice of words. Being compared to Antonin Dolohov doesn’t strike most as a compliment. However, my mother, Florence, often assures me that I am the person my father is these days rather than the person once corrupted by Voldemort and snobbish family values. I bear a striking resemblance to my father; my mother is half Veela, but I did not inherit her looks like my brothers did. I have Antonin’s unruly dark hair and persistent dark circles under my eyes, and my pale skin is not luminous and flawless like Florence’s and brothers’; my skin is dull and pockmarked. My appearance unnerves people that had fought against Antonin during the war and had lost loved ones to him.

I walk through the halls of Azkaban with Florence and Donnie. Due to prison reformations after the war, prisoners are now allowed to have visitors once a month. I wonder how Florence managed to go without seeing Antonin for years while he was locked up in Azkaban decades ago. She would have been willing to visit a place ruled by Dementors to see him. Although Antonin was strong enough to not have Dementors to torture him to death, many prisoners died from the madness induced by the soulless guards. Now, Aurors stand guard. Antonin once remarked that Azkaban was not the punishment it once was. He still hates Azkaban.

A steely-eyed Auror leans against the wall next to the door of the visitation room. She gestures to the door, as if we haven’t been here before. She cautiously eyes me before she stares at my younger brother, Donnie. She looks at us as if we’ll follow in the footsteps of our father.

It’s strange how a man I’ve seen only six times before this visit affects my life so much. Donnie, has seen our father only five times, and his Boggart is an empty jail cell that mirrors the picture of an old solitary confinement cell in the History of Magic third-year textbook. At least Donnie has mostly overcome our father’s reputation; he’s one of the most popular kids at Hogwarts. I can’t think of anyone who sees him as a Dolohov.

We enter the visitation room, where Antonin is seated on a rusted metal chair. As we come in, Antonin stands up. He embraces me first, which surprises me since he generally goes to Florence first. He buries his face in my hair. After a while, he slips out of the embrace, and his hands rest on my shoulders, I can see his tear-streaked face. In disbelief, he states, ‘This is your last year at Hogwarts.’

‘It is,’ I acknowledge.

‘Have you finally figured out what you are going to do post-Hogwarts?’

I shrug. Counselor Malfoy has tried to weasel a single career choice out of me since fifth year, but I remain indecisive. I have at least whittled the list down to two career paths. ‘I’m either going to train to become an Alchemist or an Auror.’

‘Good choices. You’re brilliant. You’re capable of anything.’

‘I guess so.’

‘You are,’ Antonin insists.

He is right in that I have the intelligence to meet qualifications, but I may not be able to get a job. My older brother Apollo, despite being the opposite of Antonin, almost had to change his surname until Hagrid managed to make a deal with then-Headmistress McGonagall to gift the Shrieking Shack to Apollo. Using a small portion of the Dolohov fortune, Apollo converted it into an apothecary so he could make use of his Healer training. He came of age just a few years after the war. so the war heavily impacted his chances at employment. His success is mainly attributed to J. Pippin’s Potions shutting down all of its shops and his obscurity since he only attended Hogwarts for two years. All of the hospitals and clinics rejected him due to his family information in their patient records; St. Mungo’s operates all of the Wizarding world medical centers, but Apollo’s customers at his apothecary lack that sort of access. They have never assumed that Apollo is the son of a Death Eater.

‘I just have to decide what I’m going to,’ I reply, not bothering to point out what my father probably already has in the back of his mind.

Florence goes up to Antonin and wraps her arms around his neck. He holds her, and it seems like they are having a silent conversation. I wouldn’t put it past them to able to communicate via telepathy. They are the most skilled wizards alive. Their talent has been wasted, however. Antonin, of course, is in Azkaban, and my mother, like Apollo, is unable to be hired due to her surname. She once had dreams to teach Alchemy at Hogwarts, but she was unable to obtain a job there due to her husband. She is now content to live off of the Dolohov fortune since her ambition died a long time ago.

Antonin is the first to let go so that he can hug Donnie. It’s strange to see them embrace. They are about the same height, but my father’s arms manage to swallow him up. My father has managed to maintain his burly figure in Azkaban, but he is not as large as photographs depict him to be in the past. When they pull away from each other, my father instructs Donnie, ‘Don’t let studying fall by the wayside this year, and stay out of detention as much as you can.’

Donnie nods, although he is still going to only focus his efforts on charming girls, playing Quidditch, and pranking assholes. He lacks an aptitude for school; Apollo was in the top in his class, and I am somewhere in the top twenty or so. We are not sure where he inherits his personality, as both sides of our family revere education. It’s not surprising that attention-seeking Donnie is putting his efforts in his Hogwart legacy instead of studying. Not to say everyone else in our family is uptight. A few pranks during the year are normal for our family, but Donnie is in detention at least once a week because of a prank. Pranks are not the only reason he goes to detention; he has been caught in girls’ dorms in every House at least once and he’s known for his Quidditch disputes.

‘Good effort,’ Florence judges.

Antonin barely smiles. ‘Maybe it will get through to him one day.”

Donnie reasons, ‘I just stick with what I know and what I want to know. I’m good in the classes I care about, and that’s the majority of the classes I take. Charms, Muggle Studies, and Care of Magical Creatures,’

‘Donnie, that’s the minority of the classes you take,’ I point out.

Donnie corrects, ‘Well, it’s the majority of the classes I attend.’

‘True,’ I concede.

Florence scolds, ‘Adonis Grey Dolohov, you can’t keep skipping the classes you don’t like. I spend too much time arguing each year for you to continue on to the next year.’ The only reason Donnie doesn’t drop out of school is to avoid the absolute wrath of Florence Nørgaard Dolohov. It’s much safer to half-ass classes and then have her take up for you. She then adds, ‘Adonis, you should feel grateful that you’re coddled so much.’

Donnie grins. ‘I am. Whenever I see people with their mummies, I am blessed to know that their mummies. is unlike mine, then I feel guilty for those unfortunate children since they do not have mummies like my mummy.’

Antonin pleads, ‘Go to class. That’s all we ask of you.’

‘You guys expect a lot of me. I am expected to attend all of my classes, not knock up any girls, stay out of detention longer than a week, never lose a Quidditch game-’

Florence cuts him off. ‘You haven’t lost a Quidditch game since you’ve joined the team. You’ve exceeded all expectations there. Our other expectations are not as outrageous as that.’

‘Why do I have to go to class if I’m going to become a Seeker for the Falmouth Falcons?’

Antonin reminds, ‘You haven’t even played a game as Seeker yet. A Chaser is not the same as a Seeker.’

‘Ollie Wood has complete confidence in me,’ my brother brags. Ollie is the only woman he likes but hasn’t tried to slide in bed with. I believe that’s only because she’s a lesbian. ‘And I wouldn’t be Captain if she didn’t have faith in me, because otherwise, she’d argue with Flitwick until his ears fell off or I wasn’t Captain. Besides, I’ll have more flexibility since I will have played as Chaser and Seeker. Plus, not many people can say that they managed to snag a spot on the Quidditch team in their first year, but I can. That hasn’t happened since Harry fucking Potter.’

Unfortunately for me, Donnie is as talented in Quidditch as he claims he is. When I became the Seeker on the Slytherin team in my second year, my team became quite the foe for the first time in years. We played tug-of-war with Gryffindor, as luck seemed to determine who won the Hogwarts Quidditch cup until my brother joined the Gryffindor team later in the year. During his first game, Donnie came close to scoring a record number of goals in a Hogwarts game. I caught the Snitch, but Gryffindor won. Since then, Donnie has only become better at Quidditch. Not only has he broken the record for the most goals in a Hogwarts Quidditch game, Donnie has managed to break his own record a couple of times. The other teams, as well as mine, have attempted to curate a team capable of defeating the Gryffindor team, but no one has succeeded.

Antonin advises, ‘You still need to have good grades for after you retire from Quidditch. They can’t have fools deal with dragons.’

Donnie informs, ‘I’ve been acing Care of Magical Creatures since I started taking it. Charms is important, too. That’s all you really need. Charlie told me so.’

Antonin sighs. ‘That Charlie shouldn’t encourage you to work with dragons.’

‘He’s had over twenty years of experience. Charlie wouldn’t be recommending me to be a dragon handler if he didn’t think I could… well, handle dragons. Besides, Hagrid has faith in me, too.’

‘Adonis will be older and more mature when he starts that,’ Florence reminds Antonin.

Antonin nods. ‘Well, maybe he’ll be mature by then. It will be a while off.’

‘Adonis had the highest grade in Care of Magical Creatures last year,’ I announce.

Antonin appears stunned. “You never told me that! Well done.”

Adonis smirks. ‘Merlin, why are you so shocked that I am capable of doing something other than Quidditch and getting myself into shit?’

‘I don’t hear about you excelling in anything else,’ Antonin teases. He then inquires, ‘Isn’t that Malfoy kid starting Hogwarts this year?’

Florence confirms, ‘Yes, Scorpius is. He won’t let you forget it.’

‘Yes, his name is Scorpius Hyperion. How could I forget? Finding out his name was the day I truly laughed for the first time since coming back here.’ To me, he says, ‘Take care of him, Artemis. I have a feeling he’ll be a Slytherin.’

‘You don’t even know him,’ Adonis scoffs.

Antonin explains, ‘Your mother talks about him a lot. It feels like I know him.’

‘Well, I know for sure he is not going to be a Gryffindor. He refuses to go down to the cellar of his house by himself.’

‘Well, I can’t blame him. It used to be a prison.’

‘You think Draco has told him that? I know you guys think I’m spoiled, but Scorpius is barely above still being breastfed by his mummy.’

‘His unwillingness to go to the cellar is the result of the time you locked him in the cellar after throwing in some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder,’ Florence chimes in.

Adonis retorts, ‘He was two. Maybe not even two. He wouldn’t remember that.’

“You can never truly forget something. You always have at least a sense of everything that has ever happened in your life,” Antonin muses.

‘Damn, Antonin, how are you so wise?’ my brother mocks.

‘I’ve been in solitary confinement for seventeen years, and I only get to speak once a month. I have so much time to ponder about everything. My life, all of your lives, the universe. If you were ever in my place, you would understand.’

The Auror ducks her head into the room. “You guys are only permitted to visit one more minute.”

When the Auror returns to her duty in the hallway, I say, ‘Antonin, Ludo mentioned he wanted to visit you next month.’

‘I haven’t heard of this,’ Florence mentions.

‘Oh, I forgot to tell you. Ludo came around the other day when you were shopping for groceries. He just told me to tell you.’

‘Was I over at Freddie’s that day?’ Adonis asks.

‘Yeah, I was the only one home.’

‘Fuck. I love it when he visits us. He’s the most entertaining guest we have that’s not Freddie. I can’t believe he didn’t stay.’

‘Well, he was busy with something.’

Antonin tells us, ‘I’m interested in talking to him, actually. I just need to discuss some matters with him.’

Surprisingly, none of us question him. Florence only ponders aloud, ‘Why didn’t Ludo just send an owl?’

‘Go over to his place and ask instead of wondering about it.’ Donnie’s advice is always handed out bluntly.

Florence replies, ‘I’m glad you’ve offered me the perfect solution. For someone starting his fifth year, you comprehend the universe so well.’

‘You need to behave, Adonis,’ Antonin chides.

Donnie shrugs. ‘It’s not like Artemis is a Prefect. Why don’t you criticize her for once?’

‘I try to avoid being caught,’ I defend.

‘See, my sister’s not so innocent as you think she is.’

‘If you’re going to insist on getting yourself into shenanigans, then be sly about it,” Florence advises. ‘Or you could always be like Apollo.’

‘My dear brother will forever be the golden boy,’ Adonis snarks.

‘He’s a good kid,’Antonin deems. That is an understatement.

The Auror reenters the cell. ‘Say your goodbyes now.’

We do so, and the Auror escorts Antonin back his cell. Florence, Donnie, and I leave the prison to head to the dock, where we board the boat that takes us back to the Apparition checkpoint for Azkaban.

 

* * *

Whenever I’m home from Hogwarts, I am never in a semi-normal family situation. When we’re not visiting Antonin in Azkaban, we’re at home with Fenrir. He managed to slip away during the Battle of Hogwarts, and he was never caught by Aurors. He’s presumed to be dead since my mum helped him fake his death; Apollo told me this a couple of years ago.

Fenrir is more of a father figure than Antonin is. I’ve known Fenrir all of my life, and Florence didn’t allow me to visit Antonin until I was eleven, so Antonin hardly feels like my father.

When we finally Apparate in the living room, Fenrir greets, ‘Hello, I take it you all had a good visit?’

Donnie replies, ‘I would say so. It’s always good to go back to the place where I was conceived.’

Florence rolls her eyes. ‘Only you would be so glad to be able to semi-regularly visit the room where you were conceived.”

‘Well, he is the first kid ever conceived in Azkaban. That’s his greatest achievement,’ Fenrir claims.

‘I’m the Dolohov destined for greatness,’ Donnie asserts.

Before anyone can respond, we suddenly hear a modest pop. Apollo appears in the living room. ‘Greetings, my family! Not only do I need to wish my dearest siblings another excellent year at Hogwarts, I need to spend time with all of you.’

Though Apollo was nearly an adult when I was born, we’ve always been close. I tackle him with a hug, and Adonis joins in with a clap on Apollo’s back and a one-armed embrace. Apollo has always reminded me of his namesake since he’s as warm and brilliant as the sun.

When my brothers and I let go of each other, Apollo tells us, ‘First of all, good luck with Quidditch and your new Captain duties, Donnie. I’m sorry for the rest of your team, though. Since you have OWLs this year, it would be wise to put more effort into your classes. You don’t want to be in awful classes in your sixth and seventh years since those are the years when the content is fascinating.’

‘To a Ravenclaw,’ Adonis adds.

‘Brother,’ Apollo jokingly chides. ‘Artemis, good luck in Quidditch, as well. I’m sure Layla will be a swell Captain. Seamus is beyond proud of her, which is a rare occurrence. Good luck with your year overall, really. NEWTs are not enjoyable for even a Ravenclaw, but you only need to focus in Potions and Divination, so it’s not like you’re one of those poor people that will be drowning in stress.’

‘You’re going to ignore your dear mother?’ Florence calls out.

‘Of course not! I just needed to motivate my brother and sister!’ Apollo goes over to my mother to embrace her, then he embraces Fenrir.

‘How’s the apothecary?’ Fenrir asks.

‘Busy as ever. I’m currently in talks with St. Mungo’s to set an on-site apothecary in the hospital for those that want to pick up their prescriptions immediately.’

Florence snidely remarks, ‘Things have changed so much. Wouldn’t even hire you sixteen years ago! I’m quite glad they are finally interested in you.’

I shudder. My first memory is of Florence ’s fury when Apollo announced St. Mungo’s had rejected him. Though he had been permitted to do an internship there, they didn’t want him as a Healer. Fenrir, Florence, and Apollo were well-aware of why he had been rejected. Florence shattered a mirror in one of her rare explosive fits of rage.

‘No need to be bitter about it. That’s all in the past. Admittingly, St. Mungo’s being interested in my services brings about a sense of...pride, I guess you could say. Perhaps satisfaction is a more appropriate word. It makes the significance of Sol Apothecary even more obvious and how even St. Mungo’s is confident enough about what we provide to be willing to form such a direct relationship with us.’

‘Excellent,’ I deem. ‘What a kind way to talk about getting the last laugh.’

Apollo looks down to conceal a smirk. He shrugs. ‘You could say that. Ultimately, I didn’t apply to St. Mungo’s to be rejected. I applied to have a chance to assist people. I got that opportunity in a different way than I envisioned, so it all worked out in the end.’

Fenrir comments, ‘What a great outlook on life.’

‘Thank you, Fenrir. Now, I’ve got to run back to Sol Apothecary, but as I said, have a good school year, Donnie and Artemis!’ Apollo Disapparates.

Donnie asks, ‘How in the hell is he related to us?’

Florence says, “I wonder how the environment he was in as a child molded him to be such an optimistic, loving person. Out of all of us, he was in the worst circumstances, yet he’s turned out better than any of us.’ Florence then hastily adds, ‘Not that you two are terrible.’

It’s always been clear Apollo is Florence’s favourite child. He is completely different from our family. He’s not cynical(like me), reserved(like Antonin and me), arrogant(like dONNIE), scathing(like Florence and Donnie at times), vengeful(like Florence), and hot-headed(like Florence and Adonis). He is not as morally grey as the rest of us. Despite his circumstances, he has exceeded all expectations.

‘Donnie, have you packed?’ Fenrir checks.

‘No,’ Donnie responds.

When Florence orders, ‘Adonis, start packing your trunk now,’ Donnie silently obeys.

To me, Florence mentions, ‘I know you’ve already packed. I’m going to invite Ludo to come around tomorrow.’ She leaves the room to retreat to her bedroom, where she always writes her letters.

Fenrir recommends, ‘You might want to have an early night. I take it the International Apparition checkpoints were brutal.today since you were gone for quite a while.’

‘Oh, they were. People squeezing in back to school shopping in Diagon Alley and family visits all over, I guess.’

‘Goodnight, Artemis.’

I leave the living room and scale the stairs to go to my bedroom. Though I don’t experience homesickness too much while I’m at Hogwarts, I always miss my bed since the mattress is not stiff like the ones at Hogwarts. Sleep washes over me swiftly.


End file.
